'Sky Whale' design brings future of flying closer

By Laura Ma, for CNN

Updated 10:22 PM ET, Tue January 21, 2014

8 photos

Sky Whale: Future of flying? – Spanish designer and aviation enthusiast Oscar Viñals has released a plane design that he says would revolutionize green air travel. Up to 755 passengers could be accommodated, across three decks, each for a different "class" of traveler.

Hide Caption

1 of 8

8 photos

Green flying machine – The plane would be greener and more energy-efficient, says Viñals, able to make longer journeys without refueling thanks to a double fuselage and micro solar cells on the wings.

Hide Caption

2 of 8

8 photos

Up, up and away – In Viñals' quest for efficiency, the aircraft would use four Harrier-style engines that can rotate up to 45 degrees to allow vertical take offs as well as landing on small runways.

Hide Caption

3 of 8

8 photos

Dressed for drag – The Sky Whale would use materials made of alloys, ceramics or fiber composites to reduce drag.

Hide Caption

4 of 8

8 photos

Safer too – In an emergency, the wings would break into smaller pieces and separate from the fuselage, helping to reduce damage to the passenger sections.

Hide Caption

5 of 8

8 photos

Bigger means better – The three-story aircraft has a greater wingspan and is higher than today's biggest carriers. Sky Whale would have a span of 88 meters in comparison to 80 meters on an Airbus A380-900, the largest commercial aircraft today.

Hide Caption

6 of 8

8 photos

Efficient healer – Sky Whale will have "active wings" powered by a hybrid turbo-electric propulsion system, making it more energy-efficient than today's planes. Viñals also says the wings would have "self-healing skin," a technology still in the works.

Hide Caption

7 of 8

8 photos

Will it ever get built? – The combination of the design elements reduces drag, fuel consumption and nitrogen oxide waste, making it the "greenest aircraft imaginable," says Viñals. Now he just needs someone to step up and build it.

Hide Caption

8 of 8

Story highlights

Passengers will have virtual reality "windows" to view whatever they want

Rotatable engines will allow the Sky Whale to take off vertically

Viñals designed the aircraft to have self-repairing wings

Give a designer and aviation geek some time and a pencil, and you might just get something great.

At the very least you'll get something spectacular.

Oscar Viñals, a Spanish designer and aviation enthusiast, has released details, and incredible pictures, of what he is calling the "greenest aircraft imaginable."

Equipped with self-repairing wings, large windows, a vertical takeoff ability and room for 755 passengers, the "AWWA Sky Whale" joins several other outlandish proposals for future aircraft that have cropped up in the last couple of years.

Viñals' design uses hybrid engine technology and "active wings," among other things, to create a plane that, should it ever get built, will not only look great but will be one of the safest and most efficient planes in the sky.